The Greatest Gift
by Riyuto-san
Summary: Christmas oneshot. It's Christmas time in Konoha, and Naruto wants to get Hinata a gift. Could it lead to something more? NarutoXHinata, slight SasukeXSakura


(A/N) Hey everybody, I'm here with my first one-shot. It's a Christmas oneshot, in honor of Christmas, and how it can bring people together.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. (Goes in corner and cries)

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It was Christmas time in Konoha, December 23 to be exact, and a new fallen snow had blanketed the town in white. The villagers were busy going in and out of stores, shopping for their loved ones.

Team Kakashi, however, was at the bridge they used to meet at when they were younger. Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto stood on one side of the bridge, and Hatake Kakashi stood on the other side. They were no longer had a student-teacher relationship, but Kakashi had called them over to tell them something. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were now sixteen years old, and it had been quite a few months since they had managed to defeat Orochimaru and get Sasuke back.

During the final fight with Orochimaru, he had almost killed Sakura. This had angered Sasuke, and he immediately turned his back on the snake-sanin. With Sasuke's help, Naruto was able to defeat Orochimaru, once and for all. Once they had gotten Sasuke back, Sai had mysteriously departed Konoha with his instructors.

Now, Naruto and frieds stood on the bridge, listening to what Kakashi had to tell them.

"Okay, team," Kakashi said, "Since it is Christmas time, and by order of the Godaime-sama, you are all getting a one week Christmas vacation."

The teens exchanged glances. "Really?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. "Really," He said, "I have nothing more to say to you three except merry Christmas." With that, he vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Yes!" Naruto cheered as he and his friends walked back to town. "One whole week off!" His companions smiled at him, and then at each other.

"So, Sasuke-kun, do you want to spend Christmas with me and my family?" Sakura asked with a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Sure," Sasuke answered, taking her hand into his. Shortly after the fight with Orochimaru, Sasuke and Sakura had become a couple. And Naruto was fine with it. When he had come back from his training, he had stopped having feelings for Sakura, and started seeing her as a sister.

Sakura turned to Naruto. "So, Naruto, what are you going to do for Christmas?" She asked innocently. Naruto's expression went from happy to sad.

What was he going to do for Christmas. He was probably going to do the same thing he did every year. Put up his small Christmas tree by the window, sing a Christmas song to himself, and go to bed. But he couldn't let his friends know. He didn't want to ruin their Christmas plans just because they felt sorry for them.

He looked over at Sakura and Sasuke, and gave a fake smile. "What I do every year," Naruto said, giving an answer without giving an answer.

Sasuke and Sakura exchanged worried looks. Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but Naruto cut her off, trying to find any excuse to end the conversation. "Well, would you look at the time. I have to go meet up with someone. Goodbye!" Naruto said as he ran off towards the village.

Sakura looked at Sasuke again. "Do you think he'll be alright?" She asked, concern present in her voice.

Sasuke seemed to consider her for a second. "I'm sure he'll be fine," He said. He just hoped that he was right.

Soon, Nauto was at the village. He looked back over his shoulder to see if Sasuke and Sakura were there, but they weren't. Good. Naruto decided to walk around town for a bit before turning in at his apartment.

While walking down the streets of Konoha, he couldn't help but awe at the Christmas decorations of the village. There were many different lights. That was one thing Naruto loved about Christmas time, the decorations.

A little down the street, he spotted Hyuga Hinata staring in a jewelery store window, and his heart skipped a beat. After coming back from his training mission, he had developed feelings towards the Hyuga heiress. He would never tell her, though. Why would someone like Hinata ever want to date someone like him.

But he couldn't not talk to her. So, mustering up his courage, he walked over towards her, because she was one person that, no matter what, could make him feel better just by talking with him. He walked up behind her and tapped her on her shoulder.

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Hyuga Hinata was admiring a beautiful piece of jewelery. It was a bracelet with two cerulean blue stones on the right that reminded her of Naruto, and two lavendar stones on the right, that matched the color of her eyes perfectly. They seemed to go together, a perfect fit.

Hinata didn't notice that an orange clad ninja was walking up to her until she felt a tapping on her shoulder. She whirled around and froze. Uzumaki Naruto was standing right in front of her, their faces merely inches apart.

Naruto pulled back a little and, blushing slightly, rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I'm sorry Hinata-chan. I didn't mean to scare you like that." He appologized.

"I-i-it's alright, N-Naruto-kun," Hinata stuttered, her face going beet red. "I-is there something th-that you w-wanted?"

"Uhh..." Naruto said. What was it that he wanted anyway. He decided to make conversation, "I was just wandering what it was you were looking at." Naruto said.

Hinata gulped and turned around to point at the bracelet she was admiring only a few minutes ago. Naruto found himself admiring it, too. Naruto looked over at Hinata, and saw that her eyes were completely transfixed on the piece of jewelery, a smile on her face. Naruto liked it when she smiled, it made him smile too.

"It's beautiful," Naruto admired.

Hinata nodded. "Yeah," She said.

Suddenly, Hinata seemed to be snapped out of her daze and looked worridly up at Naruto. "Naruto-kun, what time is it?" She asked quickly.

Naruto glanced down at his wrist watch. "It's 6:45. Why?" He asked.

"I have to be home by 7:00. I'm sorry Naruto-kun, I have to leave," Hinata said quickly. She turned to leave, but something, or someone, caught her wrist.

Hinata turned to see Naruto holding on to her wrist, wearing a pleading look. "N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked softly, a blush gracing her cheeks.

Naruto wore an embaressed look on his face. "You don't have to leave so soon," He said, "How about I walk you home?" Naruto asked. Inside, he was begging, no pleading, for Hinata to say yes.

'_N-Naruto-kun wants to walk me home? If this is a d-dream, then I don't want to wake up!'_ Hinata thought happily. She blushed nervously again. "I w-would l-l-love that N-Naruto-kun," She said.

"Great," Naruto said. They started walking towards the Hyuga Mansion, Naruto apparently had forgotten to let go of Hinata's hand.

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About halfway to the mansion, Naruto realized he was holding Hinata's hand and reluctantly pulled his away, which caused Hinata to get slightly depressed.

"So," Naruto started, trying to start a conversation, "Do you think you'll get that bracelet for Christmas?" He asked her.

Hinata lowered her head slightly. "No, my family doesn't exchange gifts like that with each other," She said.

Naruto looked at her and tilted his head. "Really? Why?" He asked.

Hinata loved it when he tilted his head like that. "My father says that it is too superficial for us to exchange gifts," Hinata said. '_Great, now he's gonna think I'm some kind of person that hates Christmas,'_ Hinata thought sadly.

But Naruto didn't think that way of Hinata. He actually felt sorry for her. She lived in such a mean place. Naruto saw Hinata's expression get sadder, so he decided to cheer her up. "It's not like it's your fault your family doesn't exchange gifts. Your the nicest person I know, Hinata-chan,:" Naruto said, giving her a reassuring smile.

Hinata's entire face seemed to light up as her face went beet red. Despite the blush, she still looked up at Naruto's warm smile. "Th-thank you, Naruto-kun," She said. Naruto nodded, and then they continued down the sidewalk in an awkward silence.

Soon, they came up to the Hyuga Mansion. Hinata quickly bowed slightly to Naruto and told him good night before darting off to her home, to write in her diary. Naruto watched her hurry to her home. Turning around to leave, Naruto was struck by an idea. He quickly ran as fast as he could to his apartment. He was going to need alot of money for the gift he was going to give to Hinata.

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The next moring, the moring of Christmas Eve, Naruto woke up with the sun. He quickly got out of bed, ate his ramen, got dressed, and left. He was heading to the jewelery store he had found Hinata at the other day. He was going to buy Hinata that bracelet that was in the window.

After counting all of his money the previous night, he decided that he might just have had enough to buy her that bracelet.

Once he finally got to the jewelery store, he took a deep breath and walked in. It was a small store, but jewelery was everywhere with blue walls. Naruto saw one woman with auburn hair standing behind a counter. She wore a smile that rivaled Naruto's, but Naruto figured that it was because it was Christmas Eve. Heck, Naruto was lucky that the jewelery store was even open.

Naruto walked up to the counter. "Hi there," The woman greeted, " Welcome to Konoha Jewelery. Can I help you?"

Naruto gulped nervously. "Yeah, I'm looking to buy that blue and lavendar bracelet that's in the window," Naruto said, pointing at the bracelet in the display case.

The woman nodded and walked over towards the display case. She reached in and grabbed the bracelet. She walked back and laid it down gently on the counter. "Is this it?" She asked. Naruto nodded. Now all he needed to know was the price, and he was home free.

"How much is it?" Naruto asked, fearing the worst. She told him the amount, and his jaw dropped slightly. That was almost all of his money! But Hinata deserved it. So Naruto reached into his pouch and retrieved Gama and pulled out the necessary amount of money.

The woman took the amount of money and winked At Naruto. "So, who is the lucky girl?" She asked teasingly.

Naruto blushed. "Hyuga Hinata," He answered.

The woman placed the money in the cash register as she talked. "That Hyuga girl, huh?" She asked, "I've noticed that for the past few days she had been looking in here through the window at this bracelet." She said, and then she paused. She looked around suspiciously, and then leaned in closer to Naruto. "Hey, how would you like to have this bracelet engraved.?" She whispered.

Naruto thought about it for a minute. "Doesn't that cost extra? I don't have enough money," Naruto answered, him too in a hushed tone.

The woman smiled and shook her head. "I'll do it for free," She said.

Naruto grew slightly suspicous. "Why would you do that for me?" He asked.

"Well, it's the least I could do for the man that defeated Orochimaru and saved the village. Plus, it's Christmas."

Naruto nodded. "But I don't even know what to engrave on it."

"You should engrave something on it from your heart." She instructed.

Naruto nodded and lowered his head in thought. What did he think of Hinata? Almost instantly, the answer came to him. He looked up at the lady with a smile on his face. "I want it to say, 'I love you Hinata-chan'," Naruto said.

"Aww. That is so cute," The woman said, " I'll have it ready around sunset. Come pick it up then, okay?"

Naruto nodded and left the store. The woman's co-worker was standing at the door to the back room, watching almost all of this. She approached her co-worker and tapped her on her shoulder. "Ally, why did you do that for him? You do know who that was, don't you?" She asked.

Ally gave her co-worker a smile. "Of course I do, Amaye. Uzumaki Naruto."

Amaye sighed. "What did he want, anyway?" She asked.

"He came to buy a girl a bracelet," Ally said.

"Why?" Amaye said.

"You know what they say. There's somebody for everybody."

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Naruto went back to the jewelery store at sunset, like he was told. Ally handed him a small box, he was told, that held the bracelet. He took it with a smile and depositied it in his pocket. With a wave goodbye, he left, and immediately began walking towards Hinata's home.

So many questions ran through his mind. How was he going to be able to give her an innocent gift that had the words "I love you," written on it? What if she didn't like it? That was stupid, of course she liked it. Ally had told her so. But what if she didn't want it from him?

He shook these thoughts out of his head. He would just have to ignore the butterflies flying around in his belly, and just do what he did everyday, wing it. He was honestly hoping for a Christmas miracle.

After a few minutes of walking, Naruto came up to Hyuga mansion. He walked to the door and knocked on it nervously. He heard footsteps, and then the door opened to reveal Hinata's father, Hiashi, standing before him. He had a slight smile on his face.

However, that smile dropped when he saw who it was at the door.

"Yes, what do _you_ want here?" Hiashi asked hatefully.

Naruto gulped nervously. He had hoped that Neji would answer the door, then it would have been slightly more easier. But with Hiashi, it would be anything but easy. '_Here goes everything,'_ Naruto thought. "Is H-Hinata-chan here?" He asked.

"Yes," Hiashi said suspiciously, "What do you want with my daughter?"

Naruto shakily reached down into his pocket and brought out the small box, to show to Hiashi. "I brought her a Christmas present," Naruto said.

Hiashi's eyes went darker. "Is that so?" He asked coldly.

Naruto gulped again and nodded. "May I give this to her?" He asked.

Hiashi shook his head firmly. "No, I do not wish for my daughter to associate with the likes of you," He said.

Naruto knew what he meant by that. He was talking about Kyubi. Naruto sighed in defeat. There was only one thing he could do now. "Well then, could you give this to Hinata-chan anyway? You don't have to let her know it was from me," He said.

Hiashi seemed to consider him for a moment before nodding. "Yes, I can do that. But you must stay away from my daughter. Understand?" Hiashi more ordered than asked.

Naruto nodded in defeat before turning around sadly and walking away. This was turning into a really bad Christmas. But it was weird. It was slightly better than all the others he could remember.

Hiashi turned around to see Neji and Hanabi coming down the stairs. They had heard everything, but were only pretending to just come down.

"Neji," Hiashi said.

"Yes, Hiashi-sama?" Neji responded.

"I want you to take this up to Hinata, but do not tell her it was from that Uzumaki kid. Tell her it was from her family, understood?" Hiashi asked.

Hanabi looked from her father to her cousin and back again. It sucked being the youngest in the family, no one ever let you into the conversation.

Neji nodded. "Of course, Hiashi-sama."

"Good," Hiashi said, pleased. He handed Neji the small package, and then Neji and Hanabi went up the stairs and turned the corner, going to Hinata's room.

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_Dear diary,_

_Today is Christmas Eve, and everything has been good. I just wish I could spend Christmas with Naruto-kun. He always seems so sad at Christmas time. Maybe it's because he has no one to spend it with. I wish I could be with him._

_Hyuga Hinata_

That was Hinata's latest diary entry. She felt so sorry for Naruto. She didn't want him to be lonely no more, but she wanted to be the one to take the loneliness away from him. But, what if he didn't return her feelings? That question plagued Hinata's mind for years.

Suddenly, there was a knock at her door, followed by "Hinata-sama. It's Neji, may I come in?" Hinata quickly hid her diary under her pillow before going to the door and opening it. Hanabi and Neji were standing at her door. Hinata motioned for them to come in, then noticed Neji holding a small box.

"Wh-what is t-that?" Hinata asked, pointing at the small box in Neji's hand.

"It's a gift," Neji answered, handing Hinata the small box. Hinata took it and opened it, and her eyes widened. Inside was the very bracelet she had been eyeing for the last few weeks. Everything was the same. She turned it to the side, and gasped at what she saw. The words, "I love you Hinata-chan," were engraved into it. She took it and tried it on. It was a perfect fit.

She looked up at Neji curiously. "Who would-"

"Your father told me not to say. I'm sorry Hinata-sama," Neji interupted, bowing for forgiveness.

However, Hanabi decided to speak up. "Father said that you couldn't say anything," She said, pointing at Neji, "But he never said anything about me saying anything."

Neji and Hinata both looked down at Hanabi curiously. "Hanabi?" Hinata started, "Y-you mean you know w-who got this f-for me?"

Hanabi nodded. Hinata wanted to ask who it was, but Neji cut her off again. "Hanabi-sama, why would you tell Hinata-sama who it was from? That's...that's not lik yoiu at all," Neji said, eyeing his cousin suspiciously.

Hanabi shrugged. "So what, it's Christmas. And besides, she's been in love with him forever," Hanabi finished, smiling slyly at Hinata.

The light bulb went off in her head. "N-Naruto-kun?" She asked. Neji nodded. "Where is he?" Hinata asked, looking from Neji to Hanabi and then back to Neji.

"Hinata-sama," Neji began, "Naruto-sama wished to come up and give you the gift himself, but Hiashi-sama denied him his request. When Naruto-sama left, he looked so sad." He finished.

"W-what sh-should I do?" Hinata asked.

"Hinata-sama, you do love him, right?" Neji asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Hai," Hinata said, blushing slightly.

"Then you should go to him," Neji finished, gesturing to the door. "And you had better hurry, it looks like it's starting to snow."

Hinata turned to her window and, sure enough, Neji was right. Snow was starting to sprinkle down from the sky.

Hinata didn't need to think about it anylonger. It was either stay here in the warm, or go and be with the one she loved. Her mind was made up.

"Thank you," Hinata said to her family, bowing to them. They returned the bow, and Hinata ran out of her room, down the hall, and down the stairs, only to be greeted by her father.

Hinata made it to the door and froze. Hiashi was blocking the door, looking down at his daughter scornfully.

"I see that Neji told you that Uzumaki Naruto gave you that gift." Hiashi stated. Hinata began to touch her two fingers together nervously. Hanabi and Neji were at the top of the staircase, listening to the conversation. "I will have to deal with him later." This statement caused the air in Neji's lungs to depart.

However, Hinata shook her head. "N-no, Neji-san did n-not tell me. I...found o-out for m-myself," Hinata said, trying to defend her cousin.

Hiashi's face remained hateful as he stared down at Hinata. "Do you intend to go to him?" He asked. Hinata nodded. "Daughter, if you decide to leave for that...that...boy, then you will no longer be accepted into this house. Am I clear?" He asked.

Hinata paled. Never return to her home again? Could she do that? She dropped her head in defeat. "Hai," She said. Hiashi folded his arms across his chest in triumph.

"That is a wise decision, daughter. You need not surround yourself with such useless people anyway," He said.

But Hinata wasn't listening. She was still deciding whether to leave or not. She could either be with someone that made her smile and laugh, or be with someone that acted hateful towards her. She made up her mind right then and there.

Without a second thought, Hinata tore out of the place she had called home for the past sixteen years, and into the new fallen snow. She ignored the screams of protest that came from her father, she just kept running as fast as her legs would carry her, searching for Naruto.

Meanwhile, at the top of the stairs, Hanabi and Neji smiled at each other.

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Naruto was walking home, slightly depressed. He had wanted so badly to see the look on Hinata's face when she had recieved the gift, especially the engraving on it. This was quickly becoming the worst Christmas ever.

Suddenly, he heard many footsteps, and then a voice. "Naruto-kun!" The voice yelled.

Naruto turned around to see a crying Hinata running towards him.

"Hinata?" Naruto whispered to himself.

Hinata got to him and burried her face into his chest, hugging him tightly. Naruto didn't really know what to do, except wrap his arms around her. As if Hinata would break if he squeezed too hard, he held her gently.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun. Thank you," She cried into his jacket over and over. Naruto looked down at her lovingly, and gently started stroking her hair.

"Hinata," Naruto said. Hinata brought her head up to see what it was he wanted, and froze. Their faces were mere inches apart. Both teens began blushing nervously.

Suddenly, Naruto leaned forward, capturing Hinata's lips with his own passionate kiss. Hinata's eyes widened at first. She had been wanting to do this for so long, now. Hinata closed her eyes and returned the kiss, with as much, if not more, passion in her own kiss.

After about five minutes had passed, they were forced to part for some much needed air. They pressed their foreheads together lovingly.

"I love you, Hina-chan," Naruto said, and he meant every word.

"I love you too, Naruto-kun. I can't remember a time when I didn't," Hinata responded.

Naruto's eyes widened slightly. "You mean...even at the academy?" He asked.

Hinata smiled more and shook her head. "No, long before that," She said.

This sent Naruto's nerves ablaze. He pulled her in for yet another kiss, this one more passionate than the last. They stayed like that for quite a while, until the temperature began to drop, and the snow began coming down harder.

Naruto reluctantly pulled away, but still gripped Hinata's hand lovingly. "I guess I should be getting you home, huh? Otherwise your dad's gonna kill me," Naruto said, using his unoccupied hand to rub the back of his head.

Hinata shook her head, blushing. "Actually, Naruto-kun, Father told me that if I came out to find you, then I would not be allowed to come home," Hinata said, finding herself staring down at the ground.

Naruto felt his love for Hinata grow more. He kissed her on her forehead, which caused Hinata to look up at the blond boy that had held her affection for so long.

"Don't worry about that right now, Hina-chan." Naruto said, "We'll talk to Obaa-can about this later. But for right now, I think that you should come with me to my home. We can celebrate Christmas together." Naruto finished, tightening his grip on Hinata's hand.

"R-really?" Hinata asked, tears welling up in her eyes.

Naruto nodded. "Really," He said.

Hinata threw her arms around Naruto's neck and kissed him once more. "Thank you, Naruto-kun," Hinata said.

"Don't mention now. I would never let my girlfriend celebrate Christmas by herself," Naruto said. It felt great to call Hinata his girlfriend. And it felt great to hear Naruto call Hinata his girlfriend. "Now, let's get going," He said.

Hinata looked at Naruto and nodded. So they walked down the road, hand in hand, and Hinata leaning on Naruto's shoulder.

Suddenly, Hinata glanced worridly up at Naruto. "Naruto-kun,:" She began, which caused Naruto to look down onto his girlfriend.

"Yeah?" He asked.

Hinata held up her arm for Naruto to see her bracelet. "I love the bracelet, but I didn't get you anything," Hinata finished, feeling slightly ashamed.

Naruto stopped walking and turned to Hinata. He placed his hands firmly on her shoulders. "You're wrong Hinata. You did get me a gift. The greatest gift I have ever gotten," He said.

Hinata looked deep into Naruto's cerulean blue eyes. "What gift did I give you?" She asked curiously.

Naruto smile at her. "You. You gave me your love. You are my greatest gift Hina-chan," Naruto said, capturing her lips once more with his own.

Hinata went beet red as Naruto kissed her again. _She_ was his greatest gift? No one, since her mother, had ever called her that before. And it meant all the more from Naruto.

Naruto broke the kiss and they began walking back to his apartment.

They would deal with all their problems after Christmas Day, but for now, they would spend Christmas with each other, for that is the way you are supposed to spend Christmas. With the people you love.

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Well, that was my Christmas oneshot. I hope it didn't suck that bad.

Hope you enjoyed it.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!


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